Ferguson insists no need to panic as County slip back to last
ROSS COUNTY
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Ross County interim comanager Steven Ferguson insists that gaining a point against Motherwell was more important for his side’s fight against the drop than staying off the bottom of the table.
County had to work hard for the goalless draw against the Scottish Cup finalists, but results elsewhere meant that they fell back below Partick Thistle to the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership.
However, Ferguson says that, while survival is still in their own hands, there is no need to panic.
“We find ourselves back at the bottom of the league, but it’s never about what other teams are doing at this stage in the season, it is what we’re doing,” he said.
“If we’re not going to win the game, we have to make sure we don’t lose. The fact is we’ve kept another clean sheet against Motherwell, a really good team.
“We’ll take this point and look forward to the remaining four games.
“It’s in our hands, nothing changes. We’re not separated from the pack, we’re right in there. One win changes everything and we’ll be looking to get that win next week.”
Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson thought a draw was just about the fair result. Neither side were able to create many clear-cut chances, getting to the final third before moves broke down time after time.
The best chances came from set-pieces, with the aerial duels seeming to be the most likely route through to goal.
But Robinson was adamant that if any side deserved to take all three points from the match, it was his.
“It was a tough game, and I thought we should have come out with a result because we had three great chances in the second half,” he said.
“I thought we should have won the game. We didn’t, but the positives are that is our 18th clean sheet of the season, so we are very happy with that.
“It was a scrappy affair until we had a little 20-minute spell where we created chances.
“We got the ball down and passed it.
“I thought we deserved to win the game, we didn’t, and, at the end of the day it was probably a fair-ish result.” Ayr handed the initiative to Raithroversintheleague1 title race after losing 2-1 at Alloa yesterday as a result of self-inflicted wounds. It means the Kirkcaldy men hold a one-point lead ahead of the final weekend.
The Honest Men’s nerves were jangling after only ten minutes when Ross Stewart slammed the ball into their net from six yards but an offside flag came to their rescue.
However, there was no let-off 11 minutes later when Steven Hetherington’s diagonal pass released Kevin Cawley on the left. He scampered forward before picking out Iain Flannigan, who sent a side-foot shot first-time into the net from 16 yards with the aid of a deflection.
Alloa shocked Ayr again on 32 minutes when Garry Fleming launched a long ball forward that caught Andy Geggan in two minds and his weak header back to goalkeeper Jordan Hart was intercepted by Callum Crane who slotted in.
Geggan and Declan Mcdaid were replaced at half-time by Alan Forrest and Craig Mcguffie as Ayr boss Ian Mccall went for broke. Five minutes into the second half, the move paid off. Mcguffie released Moore and he skipped past Neil Parry before firing in.
Ayr were given the perfect chance to grab top spot 13 minutes from time when Callum Smith pushed David Ferguson as he stretched to reach a Forrest cross.
Moore took responsibility for the penalty but sent his effort high over the bar.
The Wasps, who are aiming to finish third and face Raith on Saturday, started how they finished by having a goal disallowed, with sub Kris Renton flagged for offside after netting.